Histology of medicinal plants — Edition Insights

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Authors: Mansfield, William James, 1878- Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2021 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Botany, Medical; Plant anatomy Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 55,735

Reading time 243 min

Text sections 33

The catalog record for Histology of medicinal plants — Edition Insights provides practical reading context through 55,735 words, 4 hr 3 min estimated reading time, and 33 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Botany, Medical,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #65569

This editorial note examines William Mansfield's 1916 textbook on medicinal plant histology, focusing on his original classification of cells and tissues, the diagnostic value of his illustrations, and the precision of his technical descriptions.

Editorial Edition Score 4.9/5

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File: pg65569

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HISTOLOGY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

WILLIAM MANSFIELD, A.M., PHAR.D.

Professor of Histology and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy of the City of New York Columbia University

TOTAL ISSUE, FOUR THOUSAND

NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED

The object of the book is to provide a practical scientific course in vegetable histology for the use of teachers and students in schools and colleges.

The medicinal plants are studied in great detail because they constitute one of the most important groups of economic plants. The cells found in these plants are typical of the cells occurring in the vegetable kingdom; therefore the book should prove a valuable text-book for all students of histology.

The book contains much that is new. In Part II, which is devoted largely to the study of cells and cell contents, is a new scientific, yet practical, classification of cells and cell contents. The author believes that his classification of bast fibres and hairs will clear up much of the confusion that students have experienced when studying these structures.

The book is replete with illustrations, all of which are from original drawings made by the author. As most of these illustrations are diagnostic of the plants in which they occur, they will prove especially valuable as reference plates.

The material of the book is the outgrowth of the experience of the author in teaching histology at the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, Columbia University, and of years of practical experience gained by examining powdered drugs in the laboratory of a large importing and exporting wholesale drug house.

The author is indebted to Ernest Leitz and Bausch & Lomb Optical Company for the use of cuts of microscopic apparatus used in Part I of the book.

The author also desires to express his appreciation to Professor Walter S. Cameron, who has rendered him much valuable aid.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, September, 1916.

SIMPLE AND COMPOUND MICROSCOPES AND MICROSCOPIC TECHNIC

THE SIMPLE MICROSCOPES

Simple microscopes, forms of 4

Compound microscopes, structure of 7 Compound microscopes, mechanical parts of 7 Compound microscopes, optical parts of 9 Compound microscopes, forms of 12

MICROSCOPIC MEASUREMENTS

Ocular micrometer 19 Stage micrometer 19 Mechanical stage 21 Micrometer eye-pieces 21 Camera lucida 22 Drawing apparatus 23 Microphotographic apparatus 24

HOW TO USE THE MICROSCOPE

Illumination 26 Micro lamp 27 Care of the microscope 28 Preparation of specimens for cutting 28 Paraffin imbedding oven 30 Paraffin blocks 31 Cutting sections 31 Hand microtome 31 Machine microtomes 32

Reagent set 39 Measuring cylinder 40

HOW TO MOUNT SPECIMENS

Temporary mounts 41 Permanent mounts 41 Cover glasses 43 Glass slides 44 Forceps 45 Needles 46 Scissors 46 Turntable 46 Labeling 47 Preservation of mounted specimens 48 Slide box 48 Slide tray 48 Slide cabinet 49

TISSUES, CELLS AND CELL CONTENTS

Typical cell 53 Changes in a cell undergoing division 55 Origin of multicellular plants 57

THE EPIDERMIS AND PERIDERM

Leaf epidermis 59 Testa epidermis 63 Plant hairs 66 Forms of hairs 67 Papillæ 67 Unicellular hairs 69 Multicellular hairs 72 Periderm 80 Cork periderm 80 Stone cell periderm 85 Parenchyma and stone cell periderm 85

Bast fibres 89 Crystal bearing bast fibres 90 Porous and striated bast fibres 92 Porous and non-striated bast fibres 96 Non-porous and striated bast fibres 96 Non-porous and non-striated bast fibres 96 Occurrence of bast fibres in powdered drugs 103 Wood fibres 104 Collenchyma cells 106 Stone cells 109 Endodermal cells 116 Hypodermal cells 118

Vessels and tracheids 126 Annular vessels 127 Spiral vessels 127 Sclariform vessels 128 Reticulate vessels 131 Pitted vessels 131 Pitted vessels with bordered pores 131 Sieve tubes 136 Sieve plate 138 Medullary bundles, rays and cells 138 Medullary ray bundle 139 The medullary ray 139 The medullary ray cell 141 Structure of the medullary ray cells 142 Arrangement of the medullary ray cells in the medullary ray 142 Latex tubes 142 Parenchyma 144 Cortical parenchyma 147 Pith parenchyma 147 Leaf parenchyma 150 Aquatic plant parenchyma 150 Wood parenchyma 150 Phloem parenchyma 150 Palisade parenchyma 150

Water pores 151 Stomata 151 Relation of stomata to the surrounding cells 154 Lenticels 157 Intercellular spaces 158

Photosynthetic tissue 163 Glandular tissue 164 Glandular hairs 164 Secretion cavities 166 Schizogenous cavities 168 Lysigenous cavities 168 Schizo-lysigenous cavities 168

Storage cells 173 Storage cavities 176 Crystal cavities 176 Mucilage cavities 176 Latex cavities 176 Oil cavity 178 Glandular hairs as storage organs 178 Storage walls 179

Chlorophyll 182 Leucoplastids 183 Starch grains 183 Occurrence 184 Outline 185 Size 185 Hilum 185 Nature of hilum 188 Inulin 194 Mucilage 194 Hesperidin 196 Volatile oil 196 Tannin 196 Aleurone grains 197 Structure of aleurone grains 197 Form of aleurone grains 197 Description of aleurone grains 198 Tests for aleurone grains 198 Crystals 200 Micro-crystals 200 Raphides 200 Rosette crystals 202 Solitary crystals 205 Cystoliths 210 Forms of cystoliths 210 Tests for cystoliths 215

HISTOLOGY OF ROOTS, RHIZOMES, STEMS, BARKS, WOODS, FLOWERS, FRUITS AND SEEDS

Cross-section of pink root 219 Cross-section of ruellia root 219 Cross-section of spigelia rhizome 223 Cross-section of ruellia rhizome 226 Powdered pink root 227 Powdered ruellia root 227

Herbaceous stems 233 Cross-section, spigelia stem 233 Ruellia stem 235 Powdered horehound 237 Powdered spurious horehound 237 Insect flower stems 241

Buchu stem 242 Mature buchu stem 242 Powdered buchu stem 245

White pine bark 248 Powdered white pine bark 250

Cross-section quassia 254 Radial-section quassia 254 Tangential-section quassia 258

Klip buchu 260 Powdered klip buchu 262 Mountain laurel 264 Trailing arbutus 264

Pollen grains 270 Non-spiny-walled pollen grains 273 Spiny-walled pollen grains 273 Stigma papillæ 274 Powdered insect flowers 278 Open insect flowers 280 Powdered white daisies 282

ARRANGEMENT OF VASCULAR BUNDLES

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William Mansfield's Histology of Medicinal Plants (1916) opens with a preface that positions the work as both a practical laboratory guide and a reference for identifying powdered drugs. Mansfield, a professor at Columbia University, draws on years of experience examining commercial drug samples. The book's structure—moving from microscope use to cell types to tissue systems—reflects a pedagogical aim, but its real distinction lies in Mansfield's claim to offer a new classification of bast fibers and hairs, intended to resolve student confusion.

A Classification Built from Practical Need

Mansfield states that his classification of bast fibers and hairs is designed to clear up confusion students have experienced. This is not a theoretical exercise: the book's material is explicitly the outgrowth of teaching at the College of Pharmacy and of years spent examining powdered drugs in a wholesale drug house. The author's dual role as educator and analyst shapes his approach. For instance, he categorizes parenchyma cells by location—leaf, wood, phloem, palisade—and describes each type's wall thickness, pitting, and function. Wood parenchyma cells, he notes, are the narrowest and always lignified, while phloem parenchyma have thin, non-pitted walls to conduct food substances quickly. These distinctions are not merely descriptive; they serve the practical end of drug identification.

Diagnostic Illustrations as Evidence

Mansfield emphasizes that all illustrations are original drawings and that most are diagnostic of the plants in which they occur. The excerpts include plates showing stomata types: for example, Plate 53 depicts the stoma and surrounding cells of aconite, peppermint, and lobelia stems, each with distinct guard cell shapes and wall patterns. Plate 54 contrasts the under epidermis of short buchu (with hesperidin deposits) and Alexandria senna. These images are not decorative; they are meant to be reference plates for identifying plant species under the microscope. The author's choice to draw rather than photograph suggests a belief in the illustrator's ability to highlight diagnostic features.

Precision in Describing Cellular Structure

Mansfield's prose is exact and avoids metaphor. He describes leaf parenchyma cells as branched, with each cell having more than two terminations that are 'frequently quite attenuated and usually very blunt.' This arrangement, he explains, provides greater intercellular space and maximum surface exposure for absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Similarly, he notes that palisade parenchyma cells have end walls placed nearly on a plane, even when multiple layers are present, and that their walls are very thin and non-pitted. Such details reveal a writer who observes closely and expects his readers to do the same. The language is technical but clear, aimed at students who need to recognize these structures in a laboratory setting.

The Threefold Function of Aerating Tissue

In Chapter VI, Mansfield assigns a threefold function to aerating tissue: gas exchange during photosynthesis, oxygen entry and carbon dioxide exit during respiration, and release of excess water. He distinguishes stomata, water-pores, lenticels, and intercellular spaces as the structures performing these roles. His description of water-pores is particularly specific: they resemble stomata but remain open and are located on leaf margins outward from veins. This functional classification, grounded in observable anatomy, typifies Mansfield's approach throughout the book. He does not speculate beyond what the microscope reveals, and he consistently ties structure to physiological purpose.

Readers approaching Histology of Medicinal Plants will find a work that rewards careful attention to its illustrations and classifications. Mansfield's voice is that of a teacher who has watched students struggle with identification and has responded with systematic categories. The book is best used alongside a microscope, with the plates open for comparison. Its value lies not in literary grace but in the precision of its observations and the clarity of its practical intent.

I remember sitting with my grandfather’s old botany guides, tracing the fine lines of root cross-sections, feeling that quiet awe at how a plant’s interior holds its story. Mansfield’s precise cells stirred that same patient wonder. Later, The botanist's repository for new and rare plants; vol. 06 [of 10] — A Closer Reading offered that identical hush—not flashy, just deeply attentive to living detail.